Physics and applications of the anomalous Nernst effect in nanostructures

Abstract

The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE), one of the thermomagnetic effects that has been studied for a long time, has recently attracted renewed attention. The ANE, which originates from fictitious fields in momentum space, is essential for clarifying the interplay among heat, spin, and charge in magnets. Moreover, compared to the Seebeck effect, it has various benefits for application to high-efficiency energy-harvesting devices as it may provide much simpler lateral structures, higher flexibility, and much lower production costs. In this review, we discuss various topics related to the methods to modulate the ANE for its thermoelectric applications. In addition, we review strategies to design materials to obtain large ANE, including Weyl magnets and thermoelectric devices for effectively utilizing the ANE.